MAYOR’S PUSH FOR TROLLEY TO AIRPORT HAS ISSUES

Filner wants it fast-tracked, but regional leaders’ buy-in needed

There’s the trolley station on Washington Street just north of the airport. But it’s hardly ever used by airport passengers, Stocks said, because it’s across the runway from the terminals and requires either a bus connection, taxi or a circuitous, nearly 3 mile walk around airport property to its entrance.

It would be used to link the trolley to the future transit hub.

For Amtrak and Coaster rail passengers, the Santa Fe Depot is now the closest station to Lindbergh Field. But it also requires a bus, taxi or a 2.5 mile walk.

The trolley-to-airport link would be one piece of a much larger transformation at the airport.

As part of its conceptual plan called Destination Lindbergh, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority in 2009 envisioned a three-phase, $4 billion expansion that gradually would shift the focus of operations from the airport’s south side, along Harbor Drive, to the north side next to I-5. It said a transit hub and possibly terminals would eventually be built on the north side and that roadways would directly connect with I-5.

Reached for comment, representatives for the airport authority and the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System both said SANDAG controlled the speed with which any future trolley link is built.

“Once they build it, we’ll find a way to operate it,” said Rob Schupp, MTS’ spokesman.

“We don’t control any of the roads or routes into the airport,” added Katie Jones, an airport spokeswoman.

A spokesman for SANDAG referred a reporter to a September 2012 update on transit plans at Lindbergh Field, which noted the trolley link plan was unfunded.

Gary Gallegos, SANDAG’s executive director, said the mayor’s support would “probably” speed plans for a trolley link to the airport, though he said it doesn’t guarantee funding will be available.